Big brand apps are rapidly becoming huge money-makers

Apps are now worth £4 billion per year to brands in the UK, according to the latest piece of research.

To be precise, the Apps and Brands Benchmark 2015 report from Conjure (which surveyed 2,000 people) found that the “app channel” is worth £4.04 billion, which is up a quarter (24 per cent) on last year – a pretty impressive increase.

The average UK citizen now spends £89 per year on apps from consumer brands, and spending on apps makes up 0.3 per cent of the total UK consumption, Conjure notes.

Interestingly, the actual amount of brands’ apps downloaded hasn’t increased massively – it has only gone up from an average of 5.5 apps to 5.9 apps this year. But the amount spent has increased far more due to more in-app purchases being made.

The research also asked for the main reasons why users ditched apps – and the top irritation (at 27 per cent) was being bombarded by repetitive or irrelevant notifications, developers be aware. The number two reason on 23 per cent was simply that the “buzz around apps” has faded, which has seen the respondent’s own interest diminish in turn.

Sam Clark, Founder of Conjure, commented: “The process of buying a good or service through an app has become normalised. When it comes to putting their credit details into an app most Brits no longer have the fear factor, and most brands realise they need to have an ‘app window on the world’.

“That said, brands can’t afford to get complacent – they’ve got to have a content strategy mapped out in advance, be ready to update their apps with innovative new features at least once every six months, and promote their apps as forcefully as possible through their other marketing channels.

“Most importantly, brands have got to listen to their customers when it comes to things like notifications – if they fail to do that they will almost certainly have their apps uninstalled before they’ve had a chance to shine.”